Silicon Valley, meet Silicon Gorge

Engine Shed will welcome Silicon Valley Bank to Bristol for a free event on fundraising for startups this July

20th June 2017

Bristol’s business and innovation hub Engine Shed has invited Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) to the city for a free one-off event offering valuable advice to startups looking to raise their first venture rounds.

SVB, which has worked with some of the most innovative companies in the world, will run a series of panel discussions at Osbourne Clarke‘s offices in Bristol, including how to appeal to investors, how equity works and pitfalls to avoid.

“It’s vital that we don’t focus our attention too heavily on London [as] innovation is happening all over the UK”

The evening will also include plenty of opportunities for Q&A, as well as networking opportunities with special guests including Alex McCracken – Managing Director of Global Markets at Silicon Valley Bank, Rory Stirling – an early stage investor at BGF Ventures, and Paul McNabb – Partner at Episode 1 Ventures.

Alex (pictured left) tells us: “It’s vital that we don’t focus our attention too heavily on London – innovation is happening all over the UK and great businesses need to be able to access the capital they need to power growth. Silicon Valley Bank is delighted to work with Engine Shed to bring this event to Bristol.”

Be inspired

Given the opportunity for networking and discussion, the event is a perfect for entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics, students, and corporates to collaborate, inspire and be inspired in an expanded community.

Nick Sturge, Engine Shed’s Director adds: “We are pleased to see our friends at SVB supporting the ecosystem here in the West of England, bringing their expertise and significant network to help boost the level of investment appetite and readiness in local businesses. This event will add real value to Bristol’s thriving tech scene.”

Involved in the tech community since her first meetup back in 2013, Alice came on board as TechSPARK's Assistant Editor in 2014 and was promoted to Editor in 2018. She loves a good tech conference and has covered both local and international events over the years. She is also a sucker for anything that uses tech to do good in the world.
In her spare time she can usually be found exploring the great outdoors or taking part in some sort of ridiculous sporting challenge.